Stages of Love
by justsumii
Summary: Where one chat can lead to countless late nights, corny jokes, and stages of love. Bbrae.
1. Chapter 1

The day Garfield Logan started talking to me it was raining. I remember sitting at my desk, book on lap and pencil in hand, annotating a copy of Shakespeare's Macbeth when my phone buzzed. Underlining one last phrase with a slight flourish, I put the pencil down and reached out for the phone. When I saw the Facebook message, my eyes immediately fixated on his name. I couldn't really figure out why he was talking to me. It wasn't like he was popular or anything, he was normal just like me. I just had never really talked to him before.

"hey" the message said. Raising my eyebrow, I entered my passcode quickly and opened the chat. I decided to keep my messages short and straight to the point. I had heard many a story about creeps on facebook hitting on girls they would never talk to in real life.

"hi" I replied. A few seconds later, a new message popped up.

"i dont mean to bother you but do you know the english homework?" Ah, mystery solved, I thought.

"yeah, i was just doing it now. let me check the pages." I did so, then returned to my phone.

"act 5 scenes 4 till the end"

"thanks! :)" was his quick answer.

"anytime" I replied, setting my phone down and sliding it away from me before diving back into my reading. A few minutes later, however, the phone buzzed again. I waited before checking the notification, reading the last part of the page before reaching out for my phone again.

"wait, macbeth dies?" His message was followed by a few more question marks and a "what the hell?" I suppressed a need to roll my eyes before replying.

"ever heard of a shakespearian tragedy?"

"ya"

"well, in them, these things happen a lot. try not to get too attached to the main characters"

"i wasnt attached to him, he was a complete jerk. it just kind of sucks he was killed in such a rushed manner" I took a moment to pause

"yeah i guess so"

"i mean, after all that drama he just gets slain and that's it?"

"basically"

"anti climatic much?"

"you could say that." There was a break in the conversation and i was about to put down my phone before he messaged me again.

"so whats your favorite shakespeare play?" i raised an eyebrow before typing my answer.

"i dont really like his plays much"

"really? favorite book then?

"how do you know i like to read?" I asked.

"you dont need to like reading to have a favorite book." He replied. "plus you just seemed like the type of person who does"

"and what type of person is that?"

"idk. you just kinda give off that vibe"

"oh" I said. "and thats a good or bad vibe?"

"its bad for me cause that means i might get swept away in a flurry of literature that i dont get." A small smile crept across my face as I

read his answer.

"not a reader eh? i could guess as far"

"whats that supposed to mean?"

"you just give off that vibe"

"ooh sass"

"hardly." I said. "look, as scintillating as this conversation is, i have a chem quiz to study for and im hoping for three hours of sleep

tonight."

"ending it so soon? i was starting to have fun" He said.

"now you sound creepy. goodbye garfield"

"haha have fun rae"

it wasnt until i had signed off did i realize he called me that. i didnt have a problem with it, really. i actually kind of liked it.

* * *

That conversation triggered the beginning of a new friendship that was immediate almost from the start. We started talking every night after school. In class we gave each other weird looks and occasionally chatted. When we passed each other in the halls he would smile and tell an awful joke. It's not to say we immediately became best friends and were always together, we simply just became more aware of one another. Of course, this was not unnoticed by my friends. They ran the usual girl protocol, quizzing me if I liked him, if I thought he was cute, if he liked me, if I was sure i didnt like him. I answered honestly (I don't think so, i don't know, no, and yes) and soon enough they backed off and dubbed him as just another friend. Well, most of them did. My best friend, kori, was determined there was something going on between us. Despite my valiant efforts, her mind was made up and she continued to ship us intensely.

"Raave," She would say. "Are you blind? Can you NOT see the chemistry?"

"That's called friendship" I would reply with a roll of my eyes.

"I didn't know friendship involved googly eyes and flirting."

"Garfield and I don't flirt, and you of all people should know I don't do googly eyes for anybody, least of all Garfield Logan." She would ignore me.

"See! Even the way you say his name suggests something." She would protest.

"Kori."

"What? I'm your best friend, I can do this."

"So does that mean i can bring up you and Dick Grayson?" Dick Grayson being her long time crush. Kori would blush furiously, and glance at her shoes.

"... Okay I won't mention him." And the conversation would change topics until the next time I accidentally mentioned him. I detailed these conversations to Garfield, and he would laugh heartily and wiggle his brows at me.

"You and me, huh Rae-Rae? Not a bad idea." he would say suggestively. I would punch him in the chest. Kori said I was flirting. Garfield said it was me succumbing to his charm, which he later changed to "getting punched by a mean friend". When he told me that, I laughed. And punched him in the chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Do you ever get those moments when you are just sitting there, watching your friend as they talk, and suddenly realize how attractive they are? You've known for years that they are beautiful, but at that particular moment they just look so nice and you are reminded of that. For example, that happened with Kori in the eighth grade. She was sprawled next to me, sobbing over her latest breakup with her boyfriend of 2 weeks. I remember the balls of tissue sprawled across my carpeted floors as Kori reached for another box. My hand was stroking her hair whilst she paused long enough to cry out: "What a douchebag!" I comforted her a few seconds longer before I removed my arms from around her and stood up, turning to face her with my hands on my hips.

"Kori Anders." I said. "Look at yourself. You are a strong, beautiful, intelligent, and kind young lady, and he can't see that, which makes him either blind or dumb. If anything, he was pulling you down. I know it hurts now but you need to pull yourself up, brush out that great red hair of yours, wipe away the tears, and show the world how goddamn great you are, with or without your soggy ex boyfriend." I leant down to grab her hands and hoist her up. She looked down at me through her tear soaked lashes and I gave her a small smile.

"His eyes are way too close together anyways." I said. Kori slowly broke out into a smile before she started to laugh, and in that moment through her tear-streaked and bloated face I saw how true everything i had just said was.

In a way, I was sort of subconsciously expecting the moment when I would realize how attractive Garfield was. When I would see him running in the gym or lifting weights I would brace myself for the sudden shock of realization, for the awkwardness to arise between him and me as I became awkward and stumbling around his attractive self. But, no. It snuck up on me. It happened at possibly the most unexpected time, actually. We were sitting on the floor of my living room, a forgotten board game scrawled in front of us. My parents were out to dinner. Somehow he had managed to convince me to try a bit of alcohol with him.

"Practice," He had said. "You don't want to go to college and not know how to drink at all."

Even though "college" two years away, those words and his puppy dog eyes won me over and soon the supposed bit of alcohol he had said turned into us passing a bottle of something between us. I wasn't completely drunk, but the world was sort of fuzzy. I smiled up at Garfield and lazily pointed a finger at him.

"Truth," I announced. "oor dare." He let out a sort of hiccup-laugh.

"Dare." he answered. Raising my eyebrows, I leaned in and whispered,

"I dare you to.." my voice trailed off in hazy thought. "Make out with that lamp over there." Garfield groaned earnestly, and I pushed him onto his feet. "You asked for it!" I said as he moved over to the lamp and put his lips against it, sloppily kissing my piece of furniture. Looking at it now, it was disgusting. Right then, it was hilarious. Once my laughing fit had died down and Garfield was seated next to me again, he turned to face me.

"Truth or dare?" I took a swig of the bottle, looked him dead in the eye, and said, "Truth". He slowly leaned back and pondered his chance. Through my tipsy haze I started to realize this wasn't a great time to answer personal questions, but by this time Garfield was ready. "Do you think I'm attractive?" I immediately answered.

"Oh my god, yes." he paused.

"Really?"

"Well, I mean, I guess." I said, quieter now. "I don't think I was meant to say that." He laughed softly.

"No, it was a truth." I shrugged.

"Yeah." A pause.

"Um, just for the record, I think you're pretty attractive too. Not to make things more awkward, just... I don't know, to comfort you?" He stumbled over his final words, scratching the back of his head.

"I get you." I said, and we lapsed into a comfortable silence. Letting my head flop onto the back of the couch, I closed my eyes and listened to the two of us breathing. We fell asleep there, close but not touching, stolen confessions running through our dreams.

Things didn't really change afterwards. I mean, of course we were both well aware what we thought of each other, but it seemed like there was a barrier keeping us from doing anything about it. Now don't get me wrong. I didn't like Garfield, I just thought he was very attractive and maybe we might get along as more than friends. Definitely not a crush. According to victor, Gar's best friend, he reciprocated the feelings.

I guess things did kinda change.

Regardless, we treated each other the same way we always had. Flirtatiously fighting, cracking awful jokes, driving around in search of charming cafes, watching old movies on my laptop, etc.

That was until he got a girlfriend.

Terra was her name. She was blond, thin, beautiful, and athletic. Very nice too, which killed me; there was no real reason not to like her. When Garfield first informed me of his girlfriend, I was surprised. He had never mentioned Terra before, but I respected his feelings and their relationship. I didn't say anything about the slight disappointment I felt.

"Now you sure are glad I dragged you to those quaint little coffee shops, am I right?" I said. "Perfect date spot." To my surprise, Garfield slowly shook his head.

"No," he said. "Those are reserved for you and me." My heart melted a little even though I knew it was nothing and I smiled lightly.

"Aww. How sappy." His only retort was a light shrug. A pause. "So tell me about her." He sort of groaned.

"Why?"

"Well, I have no idea what she's like."

"She's in your biology class."

"Doesn't mean I talk to her. What's she like?" He sighed.

"Um, well she's really nice, and funny." I waited. When it was apparent he would say no more, I pushed.

"Wow, I can really see why you fell for her. Nice AND funny, what a catch." I said, rolling my eyes. He snapped his head towards me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked accusingly.

"Calm down, it's just you gave no description. I can't base what I know of her off of "nice" and "funny"." I said. He relaxed and shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." Garfield broke eye contact to look down at his jeans before speaking.

"She's so down to earth and has such a great sense of humor." he remarked. "And she's beautiful." I looked up at him and smiled.

"Terra sounds nice." I said. "I'm happy for you two." he returned the grin.

"Thanks, raven."

"Of course, Gar."

That night I told Kori over the phone. She was surprisingly quiet as i recounted the story, offering a small "mmm" or "uhuh" appropriately. When I finished we were both silent.

"Well, this sucks." she finally said.

"Why?"

"Cause it's fucking obvious you like him, raven." I immediately jumped to my defense.

"No. He's just my friend who i think is attractive and -"

"Raaaven," Kori dragged out my name. "You don't have to lie to me. The way you talk about him, talk to him, shows that you like him. A lot." I paused.

"...Really?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "Plus, the things you do together are so couple-y. You guys are always touching and talking and doing something cute..."

"Alright, Kori, I get it." i said. "I don't think so but... but you can't tell."

"When do I ever?"

"Okay. Thanks."

"Anytime, raven. I love you."

"Love you, too."

And that was how my crush, my real crush, on Garfield Logan began (at possibly the worst time ever, too).


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3! Sorry for the pause between uploads, I've been kind of busy and I'm trying to make these chapters good. Thank for favoriting/following/reviewing! Enjoy!

* * *

Have you ever noticed that when you admit something to yourself, for example that you like a certain boy, you start to notice every little goddamn thing about it (in this case, him)?

My heart_ really made sure_ I noticed.

When I talked to him over the phone I listened to the sound of his voice, velvety and smooth. When I looked at him, I stared at his eyes, mouth, hair, and cheeks. When I touched him, I felt more than warmth. I noticed that he had a habit scratching the back of his head when he was flustered, and that he was always playing music in his head because why else would he constantly tap his foot in class? I wondered if Terra noticed these things too.

Despite their relationship, Garfield kept talk about Terra to a minimum. It was like he could sense my heart sinking slightly whenever he mentioned her regardless of my smiling facade. Our silly conversations and adventures didn't change, and I thanked God everyday for it. In fact, he called me more often to ask for advice in his relationship, which I readily gave him. One time, about two month after Garfield and Terra started dating, he called me up late one night. I picked up the phone immediately and greeted him with a hushed "Hello?"

"Raven," He breathed.

"... Is there something wrong?" I inquired when he said nothing else. Garfield sighed.

"Well, yeah."

"What happened?"

"No, it's just," there was a pause. "Terra and I kind of got into a fight." I pressed my mouth together as I rose from my desk chair, walking over to my bed and flopping down with my phone still pressed to my ear.

"About?" I could feel him waving his hand around dismissively.

"Nothing big." he said. "She says that I don't focus enough on her, or some bullshit."

"Garfield, you literally spend every weekend with her."

"Yeah, I know, but she says that when we're together I'm not in the moment. Her words, not mine." He sounded heavily annoyed.

"Oh," I replied. "That's odd."

"I have no idea how to fucking fix that. I act how I act regularly."

"I can imagine so. I'm sure it's just something else she's stressed about and she's taking it out on you." I tried.

"Regardless if it's my fault or not, it's frustrating and I don't want to talk to her right now. Can we go somewhere?" he asked suddenly.  
"Excuse me?" I responded, sitting up.

"Can we go somewhere?"

"Gar, it's 11:15 at night." I reasoned.

"I shouldn't have asked you the question anyways, I'm outside already. Come on," he said. Groaning slightly, I swung my legs off the bed and headed towards the door, pausing in the mirror to pat my hair down a bit. I tip toed down the stairs, nabbing a piece of paper and scribbling a note to my parents, before pulling on my pair of boots hurriedly and stumbling out the door. Sure enough, there he was in his car, idling in the middle of the street. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the passenger seat, letting myself in.

"How were you so sure I wouldn't have plans?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. He smiled.

"It's 11:15 at night." Garfield mocked me, before throwing the engine into reverse, turning around, and driving down the empty street into the waiting night.

We ended up at a beach. Neither of us thought to bring a blanket so we sat in the sand and stared up at the moon. The world seemed quiet, save for the gentle rhythm of the waves as they rocked on and off the shore. We sat there for 10 minutes, enjoying the atmosphere and each other's company. Finally, I broke the silence and spoke.

"Feeling better?" he turned to me.

"Much." he responded, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. "I guess I just needed some air."

"Of course, the company of your greatest friend surely helps too, right?" I quipped. He searched his head around.

"Wait but... Victor isn't here?" he said, turning to me with a confused look on his face. I narrowed my eyes and punched him in the shoulder but by this point he was laughing.

"Asshole." I grumbled.

"You know you love me." he stated.

"Yeah, you simply have so many redeeming qualities." I said sarcastically. "You're annoying, you smell, you drag me out on these late night adventures, you insult me, you hit me... what's not to like?"

"I guess that explains why you're single and I'm not." Garfield joked.

"Hey man-whore, I could totally get a boyfriend if I tried." I shot back, waving a finger in his face.

"Oooh, yeah, because you have abundant redeeming qualities too, I'm guessing." He quipped.

"I sure as hell make better jokes than you do."

"My jokes are funny!" he whined.

"Are you serious?" I inquired, raising my eyebrow. "The Roberto joke?"

"That's quality material!" he exclaimed, waving his arms about.

"To who?"

"...Someone."

"Well, statistically someone has to think so." He glanced over at me.

"You're so mean."

"One of my redeeming qualities." I said, smiling slightly. Garfield continued to look at me, a curious look on his face. I held his gaze for a bit before blushing and squirming. "What?" something in his eyes changed, and he shook his head before answering.  
"Sorry, zoning out." he said. We lapsed into silence, simply staring into the sky again. 10 minutes of comfortable, lazy silence later, Garfield stood up and turned to face me.

"Thanks, Rae," He said with a smile, outstretching his hand towards me. "This really helped." I gave him a small one in return, accepting his offer and hoisting myself off. I turned to brush the sand off the back of my sweats when suddenly I felt him moving towards me and I was engulfed in a warm hug. Slowly, I moved my arms around him too and we established a tight embrace. I could feel his heart beat near my own, his chest moving up and down rhythmically as seconds passed. We were perfectly still as the world was perfectly busy around us. After a little bit, I felt him shift and moved my head away from his chest to look at him. His gaze was intense, as usual, but there was some softness in the way he regarded me as we broke apart.

"Okay."

"Okay."

As we walked back to his car, something deep in me thanked whatever was out there that things like this happened in the dark. By the time he started the ignition, my blush had faded.


	4. Chapter 4

I am super sorry for the inactivity lately! School is getting really busy as summer grows closer, but I've been trying really

hard on this chapter and I'm pretty proud of it. And even though this is the type of story where not a lot of exciting shit

happens, I will say that... well, some exciting shit happens. Okay, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The next Sunday morning, he called me. I remember it all very vividly. I was sitting by window waking up with the sunlight and a glass of water when my cellphone buzzed an ugly noise. My hand darted over to pick it up and I answered without looking at the caller id.

"Terra and I broke up.," he said simply. I almost spit out my water, but with my hand clamped over my mouth, only a dribble creeped out. Though I hate to admit it, my heart jumped. Swallowing, I brought the phone back to my ear.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." I leaned back, staring out the window.

"Why?"

"I just felt like it wasn't going anywhere and neither did she. Completely mutual." he said.

"Oh." I said. "I'm sorry." there was a sigh on the other end.

"It's fine, I'm not heartbroken or anything. But... I don't know, it's nice to be in a relationship."

"Right." I agreed. "Do you want to do anything to make you feel better?" a pause.

"Beating your ass in video games sounds really great right now." I rolled my eyes though I let myself smile a bit. Typical Garfield. From serious to funny in a matter of seconds.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." I replied. "I've been practicing at Victor's house." he laughed.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I beat your high score on Mega Monkey's 24 a couple weeks ago." I could sense his surprised from over the phone.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. Not terribly hard, all you have to do is press a few buttons. Reading my AP History textbook is harder than that was." I said, hopping off of my window ledge and heading over the dresser. "But sure, I could entertain you for a bit."

"Gee, Rae," he commented. "Really sure of yourself." I mumbled in agreement as I pressed speakerphone and set the phone down to change. Grabbing my navy pullover and a pair of leggings, I put the outfit on quickly as he ranted about his video gaming ability. I put the phone back to my ear again as I ran a brush through my hair and smeared chap stick on before heading out the door. The trek to Gars house was a cold one, and by the time I was knocking on the door my face was bright red. I brought my hands up to my cheeks in an attempt to conceal them as he opened the door and gave me a very warm smile and beckoned me in.

"Cold, huh?" He said as we walked up to the stairs to his bedroom. I mumbled something about the color of my ears and he laughed, giving me a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Always a pleasure to see you." I turned around to glare at him, and in doing so missed the final step and tripped so I spun and fell onto the top stair. Garfield instinctively reached out to grab me, but I slipped out of his fingers and caused him to lose his balance as well. And so, he fell on me and his arms landed on either side of me and his hair lurched forward to brush my forehead and his chest was pressed against mine and though I flinched away our cheeks grew flushed and suddenly the room temperature was a little bit higher. It was a silent for a bit as we stared at each other, trying to figure out what had just happened, before he cracked a smile.

"Great going, Raven." Garfield mocked me, shaking his head.

"This was not my fault!" I exclaimed, poking him in the chest. "Get OFF, Garfield, you're heavy."

"Heavy?" He questioned, letting more of his weight press onto me.

"Off." I pushed the word out of my chest with as much as I could gather. He chuckled, and stayed on top of me. And stared at me. I stared back. We were dangerously close. Then, we both drew apart and broke eye contact and he cleared his throat and offered a hand to pull me up. I accepted and soon we were quietly walking to his room again. He pushed the door open and I brushed past him, immediately flopping onto his unmade bed. I could feel his eyes looking at me as I wriggled under the covers, and when I paused I saw a slight smirk on his face.

"Warm." I said when I had settled down, my head against the pillows.

"Just woke up."

"I can tell."

"Okay Miss Smart-ass," He said, throwing me a controller and plopping down at the edge of the bed. "Let's play."

One hour and fourteen games later, Garfield lay sprawled over me, crying in mock despair as my character once again lit up on screen with a huge text (WINNER!) flying around it. I lay my hand on his back and leaned down to give him a grin. He returned my look with a look of despair. With another gentle smile, I reached down and brushed the hair away from his ear, bringing my lips towards it.

"And you questioned my ability." I whispered maliciously, smirking as he turned to glare at me.

"You're pure evil."

"Sue me." He groaned.

"You could have at least given me at least ONE pity win!" I shrugged, stretching my arms.

"Perks of being single," I said, cracking my neck. "Loads of free time for things like this."

"Let's not bring up being single."

"If you wish." He gave me a curious look before we lapsed into silence. As we lay side by side, I could hear him exhale and inhale, feel his eyes close and his mind wander. I did the same, and soon we were both in our own little worlds; separated but together. It was the type of silence that didn't need to be filled. It is simple enough to lie there, because you don't need anymore than you have and you don't want to change that. I held my breath and wished time would stop. All of this, and then sudden movement as Garfield shot up and got out of bed. I slowly sat up, watching him as he paced the length of his bedroom, possessed by some seemingly nervous energy.

"Garfield?" I asked tentatively. He ignored me and continued to walk around. I injected more authority into my tone. "Garfield, stop moving and talk to me." Once again my words were forgotten and his face took on an even more ferocious look. It seemed like he was contemplating something, thinking very hard, very quickly, very passionately, and I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about when he stopped just as suddenly as he had started and stared at me. I didn't say anything, and neither did he. Silence prevailed, and time passed. Still, neither of us spoke. Then, he inched forward, slowly, with precise movements. His eyes left mine and turned to the bed in front of him. I watched him as he put one hand down on the sheets, then the other, and then as he moved his body forward to sit on the covers in front of me. As he inched forward, I watched his long eyelashes quiver against his cheek and his mouth curl into a slight smile. He still wouldn't look at me, but it didn't matter. I knew he was nervous by the shakiness of his breath. I knew he was happy by the smirk on his lips. I knew he was doubtful by the tremor of his hand. And finally, I knew he liked me like I liked him when his green eyes met mine, and our faces were inches apart. I closed my eyes, and he closed his, and very softly he leaned in farther with such steady precision that I was trembling with anticipation.

Then, a phone rang. Precisely, his phone. His phone rang, and my heaven shattered. Garfield instinctively shot backwards, and we both opened our eyes. We stared at each other for a bit, before he tore his eyes away from mine and reached over for his buzzing phone. His screen was lit up brightly, and though he tried to conceal it, I saw the caller I.D was none other than Terra. And he saw I saw, so he rested his hand upon his screen, lifted his eyes to mine again, and said softly: "I should take this." I didn't want to say anything, so I nodded. He nodded too, then got up without looking back and went into the adjoining bathroom. Just like before, I sat in that same position for a while, trying in vain to catch snippets of the conversation occurring in the bathroom, and eventually getting up. As I slipped on the shoes I had haphazardly tossed at the foot of his bed, I contemplated making his bed where I had sat, and had just leaned over to fix the sheet when I felt a burning sensation in my eyes and suddenly I was crying. I quickly moved away from his bed, wiping away my tears with the back of my hand, and knew that it was time to leave. I retraced the hallway we had walked down, then the stairs where we had fell, past his kitchen, and finally to the front door, which I promptly opened and left his house.

I could feel him watching me as I walked down the road away from him. I knew he was, because there was a window in his bathroom that showed right where I was walking. I didn't want to appear as though I gave a damn. I didn't want to look back because I knew that if I did, it would be reaffirmed within myself that I didn't give a shit, I gave more than that, and so to prevent further heartbreak, I walked the longest minute of my life away from his house, and even when I knew he couldn't see me, I didn't look back.


	5. Chapter 5

I decided I would spend the rest of the weekend away from my phone. When I reached home, it was immediately tucked away in some obscure drawer near my desk, as was my computer, and every other electronic device Garfield could contact me by. I needed a break from myself and a cleanse from him, and so I took a bus over to Kori's house directly after the incident to tell her so. After two stops of keeping my head down and being as quiet as I could, I got off the bus and knocked on her door. I waited for a bit before the door swung open and Kori opened the door, a nervous look on her face. Upon seeing me, she visibly relaxed a touch, but still maintained tension in her face.

"Raven!" She said, smiling and reaching out to give me a hug.

"Hi, Kori," I said quietly. "What's wrong?" There was a pause and a sigh.

"You know me too well..." She murmured. "Nothing's wrong, I just got a bit worried."

"Why?" My question was promptly answered by a male voice calling down from upstairs.

"Kori? Who is it?" It yelled. I recognized it immediately as Dick Grayson's voice. Dick Grayson, the guy from our neighboring school, Kori's long time crush and friend. Kori's eyes went wide and her head snapped around, then back to me, an apologetic look on her face. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm soo sorry, Raven. I just didn't know if you would approve or-"

"I don't care." I said dismissively with a wave of my hand. "It's not that I disapprove or whatever, it's more that you didn't tell me. But I'm not going to hold that against you right now, because obviously we have some things to talk about." Kori let out a sigh of relief, then cocked her head to the side.

"Things other than Dick?" She asked, giving me a look. I slowly nodded and she stared at me until her mouth formed an "o" and her eyes were wide.

"Garfield?" She whispered. I gave her another nod and she was immediately back in the house, yelling at Dick that it was okay to come out, but that he had to leave right then. I heard no sound of complaint, more confusion, but when he came downstairs and saw me he seemed to understand and even gave me a smile and a "I'm sorry we didn't tell you" before he left. When the door had closed, Kori grabbed my hand and rushed me up to her room, primping her bed for me to sit down upon. I took my seat, and when we had settled into our respective positions, I began my story. Even though it had occurred in a matter of 5 hours, it took a long time to tell, as Kori insisted on details, and by the time I had finished I felt as if I had relived the whole thing again. Kori pulled me into a hug.

"Oh, Raven, sweetie," She murmured into my shoulder, rubbing my back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry."

"So am I, Kori." I said, pulling away. "Why did I do that? I knew that he and Terra were going to get back together soon anyways, and to just let myself become his... his rebound girl... it's something I never thought I would do, Kori. And here I am."

"Do you know that him and Terra are back together?"

"Well, no, but the fact that they're talking shows that they're repairing something, and we all know how hard it is to be just friends with an ex-" But Kori wouldn't here it.

"I only asked if he and Terra are back together, and so far we know nothing, so don't use that against yourself."

"I still have the whole rebound-girl thing to feel awful about." Kori sighed and pulled me close.

"You don't know, and I don't know, and magazines don't know, and even our mothers don't know why the fuck boys have to use us sometimes. But what we do know is how to make you forget about him and let you feel better about yourself." She looked at her phone. "So right now it's Friday. I'm going to give us tonight to veg out and feel better and eat and cry and talk. Get it all out. Okay?" I nodded. "Okay. Then, on Saturday, we're going to go out. Dick is having a party, and we're going to go out, look hot, and show Garfield what he's missing. Plus, Dick does have some cute friends from his school I could potentially introduce you to." I winced. "Or not. And if we decide it isn't fun, we can leave and do whatever else. The point is that you feel better about yourself. Sounds good?" I looked up at Kori, my best friend, and gave her a small nod. She returned it with a giant smile and another squeeze to my shoulder.

"So, where do we start?" I said softly, looking down to finger her comforter.

"You should probably call your parents to tell them that you're staying over here for the next two nights. We can swing by your house tomorrow and pick up some clothes for you, right now just borrow my stuff." She replied, hopping off the bed to fetch her computer. After I did nothing, she turned around and gave me a look. "Well?"

"I don't have my phone. I thought it would be better to keep away from it." At this she paused, then pulled her phone out of her pocket and tossed it at me.

"Good idea." She murmured, turning back to her computer to pull up the Netflix homepage. I called them, and they said it was fine, so long as I was back before 5 on Sunday. And with that, the admittedly girliest night of my life began. Maybe I didn't get my nails painted and gossip and get a facial, but by my standards Kori's schedule was pretty fucking "typical teen sleepover" of us. We checked off the "Must See Chick Flick Movies" that Buzzfeed had provided us with, ate copious amounts of double chocolate ice cream, and then we talked. We talked until the sun had long gone down, until we had nothing important to say anymore and just said things to one another that we would forget when we woke up again. We talked about her relationship with Dick and the problems they had encountered from not going to the same school, and I told her about my budding friendship with Victor and my developing video game addiction. We talked about the little things we didn't already know about one another. And then yes, we talked about Garfield. And I cried about Garfield. We talked until our bodies begged us for sleep, and only then did we let our eyelids close and our bodies relax, and soon we were asleep. I don't think I had ever gone to bed so fulfilled.

Once I awoke, sun was streaming into the room and the lump that was Kori next to me was gone, presumably in the shower that I heard running somewhere in the house. I let myself lie there for a while, contentedly stretching and yawning and generally waking up. All of a sudden, the reality of my situation crashed back upon me as I realized where I was and why I was there, and suddenly it felt as if I had received no sleep and the peaceful feeling I had woken up with evaporated. I let out a breath of air, then sat up, refusing to wallow in my sadness any more. For the first time in 12 hours, I wanted to see my phone. I was curious to see if he cared, if had called or texted me, or if he had decided to leave me alone. I couldn't decide which one I wanted.

In the midst of my thoughts, Kori pranced in, donning a towel wrapped around her body, and a towel in her hair. She gave me a bright smile and good morning, then when I could only manage a small smile, she sighed and came over to me, grasping my hands.

"Raven, remember what I told you yesterday?" She asked. I nodded softly.

"It's just kinda hard. But I'm gonna try." Seeming satisfied with my answer, she smiled and went over to her dresser, throwing it open.

"So I don't really have anything planned for our day up until about 4 o clock, so how about we go to your house first just to pick up your stuff?"

"Sure." I said. Kori threw me a loose t-shirt and some jean shorts, and we promptly got dressed before heading out the door. We piled into Kori's car and after five minutes of idle chitchat, arrived at my house to gather my stuff. After reaching my room, Kori head into the bathroom to gather up the appropriate makeup, skincare, and dental care items she thought I would need, and I grabbed a bag which I stuffed with my pajamas, casual clothes, and a couple of outfits for Dick's party. And then, on impulse, I grabbed my phone. I didn't dare check the screen for any notifications.

We spent the remainder of our free time lounging around; rotating from the Kori's room, to the kitchen, to occasionally the bathroom, then back to Kori's room. We polished off the rest of the microwave popcorn we left from last night, and I grudgingly let her give me another facial while she raved about how naturally "dewy" my skin looked. When I questioned exactly what "dewy" meant, she gave me a strange look before continuing to apply the mud mask.

"Stop frowning, it's messy up the facial." I stopped asking after that. Finally, four o clock rolled around, and Kori insisted on getting ready. I protested, as the party didn't start until at least four hours later anyways, but she refused to give up, and so I once again gave my self over to her. She squealed, and after running to turn on blaring music, grabbed me and dragged me into the bathroom, where she plopped me down and set on her task of making me look acceptable. I felt her apply foundation, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick, and another load of products I did not know the names or uses of. However, I did not question her judgment, and when I opened my eyes however long later, I was glad. In the most modest way, I looked good. Whatever Kori had applied made my skin look glowing and not the colorless pallor it usually was. The black eye shadow elongated my eyes, and the mascara created lashes I didn't even know I was capable of having. I thanked her profusely, but she brushed off my words, telling me to go get dressed. When she emerged a couple minutes later, her makeup looking flawless, I had squeezed into a pair of high wasted blue shorts with golden buttons and a white low cut tank top. Kori looked me over.

"I've created a work of art." She said simply. "I'm a genius." I blushed, looking down at myself.

"Are you sure it isn't slutty?"

"You haven't seen slutty," Kori said, picking up some clothes from the floor and inspecting them. "You look fine." With that she put on her clothes, and with a couple fluffs of our hair and squirts of perfume later, we were all ready to go. We piled our things into Kori's purse, though I kept my phone in one of my back pockets, then got into her car and drove off towards Dick's house. Surprisingly enough, we had used all the time Kori had said we needed and we arrived just as the party was starting. Dick greeted us at the door, giving Kori a sloppy kiss on the cheek and me a hug before ushering us in, yelling to his friends. He then introduced us to a whole horde of people, none of whose names I retained long enough to really meet. I mostly stuck by Kori's side as she flitted around the room, showing me off to people and mingling. I recognized a few people from our school, but I mostly met people. After half an hour, I had already said my name so many times that it didn't sound like a proper word.

Yet, among the crowd of people and blaring music, among Kori's whispering to me whenever we met someone cute, among the two shots I had upon arriving, my mind couldn't get off of him. I scanned in them party in search of his figure, and with every person I met I compared them to Garfield. _Cute, just like Gar. He has really nice eyes, but they're not as green. Oh, he's tall, but I think a bit too tall. _For the first time I knew what "high standards" meant, and how annoying they were. I really wished that I could just let go of him in a blur of alcohol and hook-ups, but I couldn't. The pain was too raw, and the room was too hot. After meeting and talking to a few more people, I waded through the crowd to Dick's yard, which was, thankfully, empty, save for a few couples watching the stars or talking. The cold air felt nice on my skin, and I closed my eyes for a couple seconds just to collect myself. Then I checked my phone.

One missed call from Garfield, with a voicemail, two text messages from Garfield, and one text message from my mother. I sighed, and clicked on the notifications. My mother was simply inquiring about if I had collected my things or not, and so I texted a quick reply. Then, I opened Garfield's.

"_call me when you get this"_ It read. I didn't bother to reply, instead heading over to my voicemails to listen to what he left. There was some shuffling on the other end before he spoke.

"_Raven, when you get this please call me. We need to talk..." _He said, then paused. "_I'm really sorry, Raven. I know you're upset. I'm... I don't know where I am right now. That's why I need you to call me. Please." _And he hung up. I stared at my voicemail inbox for a while as the party raged around me. I wondered if any of the guys I had met tonight were thinking of me. I wondered if Kori was either. After a few seconds of thinking, my decision was made.

"Fuck it." I said suddenly, and turned on my heels and went back into the party. I pushed my way through the people, scanning my eyes for Kori. However, I didn't see her when I reached the entrance, so I told a group of people near the doorway to tell her I had to go. Then I pulled open the door and stepped out of the party, and headed off down the street to Garfield's house.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi everyone! I hope you've been enjoying so far. I'd just like to take this time to thank you all for the immense support I have received for this fic! Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows. Every single one makes my day. I'd also like to say that this chapter will end on somewhat of a happier note, but it didn't come out exactly as I would've liked. It might be a little messy, but for some reason I felt compelled to share it with you guys ASAP. So, without further ado, here's chapter 6 of Stages of Love!

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Walking in high heels was hard. I learned this as I clomped my way over to his house, phone perched in hand, his voicemail on repeat. _Call me. Please._ Well, this was better, wasn't it? Seeing him in person. Talking to him in person. An involuntary shudder went through my body, and the coldness of the night hit me. I picked up my already brisk pace. I was close, I knew the familiar turn and bend of the street that lead to his house. It seemed as if the street had gone to sleep. All the houses had turned off their lights and the neighborhood was quiet as I walked by. I peered into each house and imagined the stories of the people within each house. _That house holds an old woman who lives alone. Her husband died a long time ago but she still says goodnight to him every night before turning off her lamp and tucking herself to sleep. _A brief smile passed over my face before I returned my gaze to his ever-closer house, now only a couple houses away. I saw his house was mostly dark too, save for what I made out as the kitchen and his bedroom. This only inspired me, and my quick walk turned into a slight jog despite the blisters I felt forming on the back of my feet. I soon slowed down my pace and headed up the pavement leading to his door. Once there, I stopped. Now that I was here, the house seemed bigger and scarier than it had from the distance. I had forgotten what I wanted to say, and my hand hovered over the door, knuckles clenched and ready to knock. I paused here for a while, taking a few deep breaths, before my hand dropped to my side and I instead looked at my phone. The time read 11:00. Slowly, I unlocked the screen and opened my text conversation with Gar.

_"i'm outside, if you want to talk."_ I stared at the message long after I had sent it, pondering whether I should have just said nothing, when the door swung open and there was Garfield, dressed casually in sweatpants and a black tee. I swallowed, suddenly aware of the shortness of my shorts and the cut on my tank top. We didn't really say anything for a while, just kind of looked at each other.

"You look cold." He said finally, opening the door wider and beckoning me in.

"I am a little bit." I said quietly, shuffling into his house. He shut the door, then turned to face me with an implacable expression.

"Do you want to change out of those clothes?" He asked, looking me over again. I felt a blush rush over my cheeks, so I quickly turned around and took off my high heels.

"I'm fine." I murmured before turning to face him again. Garfield still retained that weird expression on his face, but now I could detect concern as well.

"Fine my ass, you're cold." He said. "I have some clothes upstairs for you." Realizing that arguing was pointless, I gave him a shrug and followed him upstairs. We took the same path we had before, and the memories from last time flashed into my mind and my heart let out a painful pang that reverberated around my rib cage. I pushed on until we reached his room. It was silent as he pulled out another pair of sweatpants and tossed them to me. He turned away so I could change, and when I was done I quietly folded my shorts and put them on the chair next to me. I then cleared my throat and he turned back around. Once again, we regarded each other and silence surrounded us like a blanket. What felt like minutes passed where we just stared onwards when finally my eyes and heart burned, so I spoke.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" The words seemed to echo around the room.

"Um," He collected himself, drawing in a breath. "What happened." I cocked my head to one side.

"Well, I know what happened. Do you?"

"Yes-" He replied, but I cut him off.

"Then we know what happened. Anything else?" He let out an annoyed grunt, his eyes narrowing.

"Stop being a such a bitch. You know what I want to talk about."

"No, I don't actually. I didn't come here to talk about something I knew already."

"Well, you at least know that wasn't what I meant."

"Then what _did_ you mean?"

"Do I really have to spell it out for you, Raven?" He asked, slightly flustered. "What happened last time you were here was... different than what usually happens. It was unexpected, and crazy, and..." Here he paused, and met my eyes. "And I don't know what else I feel about it."

"What does having me here do to help?" I asked, annoyed.

"I don't know!" He exclaimed, bringing a hand to his hair. "I don't know, Raven. I just wanted to talk about it, thought it would help, but now you're here and looking like you're looking and things aren't clearing up, they're being shuffled and tossed around and I don't know what I want at all." I stepped closer to him.

"We're not going to sit around and ponder shit." I said quietly. "I'm very confused, and I want answers. I know you want answers too, so how about we just-" I walked about to him and pressed my body close to his and stood on my tip toes so I could stare him in the eye and brought my lips close to his own. "Choose." We remained locked in that pivotal position for a little while, our breaths mingling, our hearts speeding up. He didn't move anything and neither did I. The world was still. We were still.

And then he brought his hand up to my back. And then I looped my arms around his neck. And then everything happened all at once. We crashed into each other, lips on lips, chests on chests, hands everywhere. Everything was upon us, everything was the now, and we knew it, and we didn't care. We moved in an intricate dance, and he fell backwards onto his bed and I toppled on top of him but not once did we let ourselves stop living everything. It was if whatever I had felt for him till then, from the jealously to the pain to the love, the pure, pure love, was expressed in a mere minute. And then, we broke apart. My breath was heavy as I looked down at him. His was too. We said nothing for a while, simply pondering shit, and after a while he gave me a small smile.

"Do you see why I need you here?" He said softly, still a little breathless. This time I had nothing to say in return, so I just looked down and him and gave a small nod.

"You look really beautiful, by the way." He commented, and I felt a blush come over my face.

"It's not really me." I said quietly, bringing my hand up to wipe some of the foundation off of my face. "It's just makeup."

"Speaking of which, why are you wearing all that?"

"Oh. I was at a party." I didn't know how he would react when I said that, but all he did was smile and raise his eyebrow knowingly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Dick Grayson's."

"Kori's influence, I'm assuming."

"Of course."

"Sorry to pull you away." I leaned in close.

"You know I'd rather be here."

"Made the right choice, I guess." He smirked. I wanted to roll my eyes and pinch him, but something stopped me and I instead demounted him and sat next to him on the bed. His eyes were still watching me as I flopped down next to him, so I turned my head to meet his.

"What?" I asked after he said nothing. Garfield chuckled.

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"Well..." He paused. In fact, he paused for such a while that my mind began to run with the possibilities of what he could say. With a couple words he could either make or break my heart, but I stifled everything and sat there quietly, watching him as he thought. "I'm just marveling at how something so complicated became so simple in such a quick way." With that, he smiled. "How you can be so complicated and simple at the same time... that's incredible." It wasn't at all what I expected, and he knew that, so he waited while I thought.

"Is it so simple?" I finally answered with a sad smile. "If anything, this complicates things. We are friends, best friends, but we have just kissed and possibly revealed deeper feelings, and you have just broken up with your girlfriend, and I have just had two shots of vodka."

"Okay, so maybe the bigger picture isn't simple. But when is it ever? All I know is that right now, at this very moment, I have just kissed a girl that I like very much, and I'm hoping she likes me too, because that would be perfect." He moved closer to me and took my hand in his. "We can think about everything tomorrow. I just... I just got everything I've wanted for a while. So can we just enjoy ourselves?" The normal Raven would have talked things out a little more, pushed the issue, worried about Kori, Terra, Dick, Victor, worried about tomorrow. Instead, I gave him a little smile.

"Okay." I said softly. I could leave the worrying until tomorrow. And with that, Garfield pulled me into him again.


	7. Chapter 7

I awoke to sunlight on my face. The sudden brightness was disorienting, but somehow I knew exactly where I was and how I had gotten there by the arm that snaked out from under me and the steady breathing on the back of my neck. A smile crept onto my face as I heard him groan softly, then lapse back into deep sleep. I lay there for a while, watching as the sunlight inched forward on the comforter. I wasn't sure where Garfield's parents where, if they were still sleeping or if they had just left, but I felt no sense of urgency to leave before they saw us. We didn't actually do anything harmful anyways. We kissed, we talked, we laughed, we slept, and now we had woken up. Well, I had woken up.

A few more minutes passed where I slowly brought myself out of my sleepy state, and boredom set in. As quietly as I could, I inched myself away from Garfield, scooting off of the edge of the bed. He did nothing besides retract his arm to his chest, so I stood up and walked over to the chair where my clothes and phone were. I sighed at the sight, remembering how I had ditched Kori, before I reached for my phone to turn it on. However, it was out of battery, so I sighed and placed it next to my crumpled shorts. I then headed to the bathroom, and upon looking at myself in the mirror realized that I had gone to bed with all the makeup Kori had put on my face. The mascara had rubbed off onto my cheeks, and the lipstick was almost gone, but I felt the remnants of foundation and other products so I brought my face to the sink and washed it. When I looked back up to the mirror, my eyes were less smokey and my skin pallor less glowing, but I was myself again. I smiled at the mirror, then headed back out to Garfield's room, where he was just beginning to stir. Climbing back into bed, I sat cross-legged next to him and watched as he opened his eyes slowly.

"Raven?" He asked softly, rubbing his eyes.

"Garfield." I said.

"You look cleaned up."

"I woke up like half an hour before you did and I felt gross."

"Hangover?" I paused.

"Surprisingly, no. I went to bed with my makeup on instead."

"Ah." He said, and sat up. "Explains why you look so different." I raised an eyebrow, so he clarified himself. "In a good way. Glad to see Raven's back. Oh, and," With this he sat up and leaned in, kissing me slowly and softly on the lips. "Good morning." I couldn't help the warm smile that spread across my face.

"Morning." There was a pause where we just kind of looked at each other, both smiling like idiots, probably.

"Well, I'm starving and my parents aren't here to make breakfast." He said finally, stretching his arms out.

"Where are they?"

"I think they're at some 20th anniversary party across the country."

"How fun."

"Besides the fact that we now have to make our own food, yeah." I rolled my eyes and gave him a pointed look.

"You know that I can't cook anything," I said. "Which leaves this all up to you." He scoffed at this.

"God, Raven, you make me do everything!" He exclaimed sarcastically. "Be useful for once!"

"Shut up and make some waffles." I muttered darkly, to which he murmured:

"Feisty. I like that." And slid out of bed.

"Hey, do you mind if I use your charger to charge my phone? It's out and I wanna check if Kori's okay."

"Yeah, you know where it is." Nodding, I scootched over to the edge of the bed and plugged my phone in, where it promptly buzzed and displayed on empty battery sign. "Is showering cool, too?" I said, looking up at Garfield, who was digging in his drawers for extra clothes.

"You basically live here, you don't have to ask." He replied, turning around and tossing me a loose t-shirt from some charity run long ago. "I'll be in the kitchen cooking our breakfast." Garfield smiled at me, before casually walking out of the door. I stared at the area where he had stood for a while, wondering how the hell I could have been so lucky. How was it that I was one of the fortunate few to have a crush reciprocate feelings, then act upon them, and now have a seemingly perfect relationship right off the bat? Now that I thought about it, I wasn't entirely sure what we were, but I kind of liked this undefined something, so I got up and went to his bathroom without thinking about the subject more.

The shower proved to be very relaxing. As I lathered the shampoo that he smelled of into my hair, I could picture him doing the same and my heart leapt once again at the whole situation. I finished my shower quickly, then pulled his baggy t-shirt on and once again slipped on the pair of sweatpants I had slept in, and immediately headed downstairs, following the smell of fresh waffles and coffee. When I found him his back was turned to the door, his focus on the plates of food he was still preparing.

"Smells good." I said, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"It'll taste good, too." He murmured, bending even farther down over the plates.

"I'm sure." I let him finish his work in silence. After a couple seconds more of prepping, he turned around with a goofy smile on his face and two plates of steaming waffles topped with strawberries and freshly whipped cream. He sauntered over to the table slowly, waving the plates around, teasing me. I glared at him and reached out to grab a plate, but he only danced away with an ever-growing smile on his face. Standing up, I chased him round, reaching and spinning and ducking, yet he somehow managed to avoid my touch whilst keeping the place gracefully balanced on his hands. Somehow we ended back at the table again, but now I had a tiny smile on his face. Finally I lunged forward to grab a plate, when he dodged and I hit the table, using my hands to soften the blow. I turned around, ready to strike again, when he moved forward and soon he was pressing me to the table with his chest, the plates on either side of my head.

"Waffles." I said in a commanding tone, dropping my smile and giving him my hardest look. Garfield did not crack, he knew me too well, so instead he leaned forward.

"Make me." The words sent a shudder through my body, though I suppressed it. I wouldn't let him get the satisfaction of that. Instead, I stared into his eyes, inching forward. I took my hand off of the table and let my finger trace upwards on his chest slowly, never breaking eye contact as we grew closer. His breaths got shallower, and as both of our eyes began to close with a sudden movement I reached for the plate. Surprisingly, his eyes shot open too and he ducked my hand once again, instead reaching around me to place the plates on the table. With stunning agility, he then wrapped his arm around my chest and pulled me into a fierce kiss. My mind was reeling with what had just happened but when I felt his lips on mine I let it go and lost myself to him.

It was moments like these that I was thankful it was just we two in the house.

After a minute or so he pulled away, a smirk on his lips.

"Oldest trick in the book." He asked quietly, a low rumble in the back of his throat.

"Still looks like you fell for it at first." I said, and he shrugged.

"Who wouldn't have?" He asked, giving me a look that I couldn't place, but I could identify a deep sense of possession. It was almost a feral look, one an animal would give among recognizing it's mate, a look of: "she's mine". I wondered if he had given Terra similar looks, then banished her from my mind.

"I'm hungry." I said instead.

"Help yourself." And with that we broke apart, and sat down next to each other, digging into our waffles with gusto. The meal was mostly silent, but was quick, Garfield and I consuming 3 waffles a person in 4 minutes. When we had stuffed ourselves comfortably, we laid back on our chairs and stared at the ceiling.

"Damn good waffles." I said.

"Indeed."

"Life is good right now." He turned to me.

"Tell me about it." I let him reach in to give me another kiss.

We meandered our way upstairs after that. He immediately collapsed back into bed, and I was tempted to join him before I noticed that my phone, faced down on the desk, was buzzing. I made my way over to it, and checked caller I.D: Kori.

"Who is it?" Gar asked, but I held up a finger to shush him as I swiped to answer.

"Hey, Kori." I said. "I'm sorry about last night-"

"Raven, thank God." Somebody who was not Kori answered. "Where the fuck have you been?" I recognized it as Victor's voice.

"My phone's been out of battery... Victor why do you have Kori's phone?"

"Get to the hospital now." He said sternly.

"Why?" I asked, and though I knew the answer I hoped hoped hoped to whatever was out there that what had happened wasn't what I thought.

"Kori's here. She passed out last night... brought here... alcohol poisoning I think. Just come quickly." And with that he hung up. I held the phone to my ear for a while after, my mouth hung open, my legs paralyzed. I could hear Garfield's voice in my ear, but my brain wasn't functioning well enough to for a coherent answer.

"Kori," I blurted out. "Hospital, now." Garfield's eyes widened, and then all of a sudden my legs started working and I started to run towards the door, phone in tow. Behind me, he grabbed his car keys and sprinted after me, and just like that we were out the door and driving down the road to another unknown something, and the sinking feeling in my stomach told me I wasn't going to like it.


	8. Announcement

Hello readers! This is my short apology letter to you guys for not updating. Usually I'm pretty good with writing my stories and uploading them consistently but I lost steam with this story, plus I had exams and everything so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to write. In addition, I haven't planned this story out like I do with others so it's also a matter of the deciding the actual plot. Anyways, I'm suuuper sorry! It totally isn't okay to leave you guys hanging. I'll be updating more frequently, I promise. I know that I'm going to be doing some writing tonight. Once again, super sorry, I love you guys tons, and I'll see you soon!

Love,

justsumii


	9. Chapter 8

Here it is finally! Chapter 8! I will warn you there is quiet a bit of swearing in this chapter but I hope that is alright for you! Thanks for the everlasting patience and kindness, you guys are great! Please enjoy! (I don't own TT)

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It seemed like the drive took forever. Buildings flew by my window, people went about their everyday lives, and the radio murmured in the backyard, but my mind was distracted. Minutes flew by, and each time I felt as if we had covered no distance, though I knew Garfield was going as fast as he could without attracting the attention of the police. All I could think about was what had happened to my best friend, and how I wasn't there to help her. I knew Garfield could feel me trying not to pull out my hair, and so he put his hand on my arm.

"She's going to be fine." He said softly.

"We don't know that. We don't know anything." I replied. At this he let out a sigh.

"We're five minutes away, Rae. And then we can see her and-"

"I know that we're five minutes away, Garfield. I've been counting every damn minute. Maybe if you'd stop driving like a fucking grandma we'd be there by now." I snapped. Suddenly the air was very silent. I could feel Garfield heating up beside me, his grip tightening on the steering wheel, but something in me refused to take back my words. The only thing I could think about was still Kori.

"I've been driving as fast as I can, Raven. Over the speed limit. Running lights, using short cuts. What the fuck else do you want me to do? If you want me to run someone over for this, you need to re-evaluate your priorities." He said slowly, his voice controlled.

"This is KORI, Garfield. My best fucking friend!" I shouted, furious. My hands were shaking on my lap as I turned to face him. "You would never understand how I feel. You don't understand me or how I fucking work. You don't know me at all. I've made a huge mistake with you, Garfield."

"Raven, listen to yourself-" He began, but I wouldn't have it.

"No, fuck you-"

"You are being such a brat!" He exploded finally, his hands coming off the steering wheel for a brief moment to pull at his hair. "Get over yourself, Raven, because no one wants to take this bullshit!" I stared at him long and hard. His words cut into me deeply, and whilst I knew that I was being a brat, my hot head got the worst of me. Very slowly, I leaned in to him and took a couple seconds to breathe.

"Pull over and let me out." I hissed.

"What?"

"You heard me. Pull over and let me out. I don't want to be with you."

He said nothing for a bit. I could feel the anger radiating off of him in waves, his eyes narrow as they stared down the road. Then, very slowly, with painful precision, he pulled over.

"Out." He said. His voice dripped with venom, and even though I was the one who asked him to pull over, it seemed like in the end it was he who was making _me_ leave. With not another word, I grabbed my things and exited the vehicle. No sooner that I had slammed the door shut was he off, executing a hasty turn and speeding off down the street. Through his window disappearing into the distance, I saw him take his phone out and press a few numbers. My heart sunk even further as his car disappeared off the end of the street, but I knew that the absolute worst thing I could do right now was to collapse onto the street and cry. So I shook my head and took a deep breath before I ran down the pathway towards the hospital in the distance.

They wouldn't let me in. The nurses insisted that it was family only and that she hadn't woken up yet anyways, and whilst I said multiple times that we were sisters, she saw through my lie and sent me back to my chair with a sympathetic smile. However, she regarded my messy hair and dirty shoes and said she would call me in as soon as she was awake.

The waiting room was very lonely, like it was missing something, which I suppose it was. In the midst of the stress, I wondered where he had gone, what I had fucked up. My mind raced with the other things possibilities, too. It was torture to keep me out here, so close to everything, when Kori was in danger, when Garfield was angry outside, and though I tried to keep a calm head I constantly relapsed to my state of worry. I wondered where her parents were; if they were in there or if she was all alone. I wondered where Victor was. Minutes that seemed like hours passed, and finally the nurse called out the most beautiful words I have ever heard:

"Visitors for Koriand'r Anders are welcome now." I immediately sprung up, and went up to the nurse. She promptly nodded at me, looked around the room, then proceeded to lead me down the hall. I tried to refrain looking into the hospital rooms, most were closed anyways, but when I lifted my head, I glimpsed into a room where a girl, lying still and pale in a bed, was watching a doctor with a grim look on his face. My heart constricted and my breath caught short, but I only walked faster.

_Kori. Garfield. Victor. _

After what felt like forever, we arrived at a door cracked open that displayed her name in the folder stuck on the front. When the nurse paused, I resisted the urge to shove the door open myself and instead clenched my teeth.

"I encourage you to be gentle with her, she has just woken up and is still quite weak." The nurse said quietly, and I tersely nodded. Then, slowly, she opened up the door. There was a curtain drawn around the patient's bed, from the vicinity of which I heard voices, and I gently moved to pull it out of the way. On the bed sat Kori, her eyes swollen, her skin still a blue-ish pallor, her lips dry. Her hand shook as she gulped down a plastic cup of water. Next to her sat her mother and father on white chairs, both with a worried expression on their faces as they regarded their daughter with parental concern. A nurse stood by as well, talking quietly to the small family. However, the other nurse turned around and saw me, and with a smile beckoned me forward. Kori's parents eyes turned to face me. Her mother broke out into a smile, tears welling in her eyes as she saw me, and Kori's father gave me a nod. I moved forward so that I stood next to Kori and finally she turned to face me, too. Her eyes were even redder up close, and her mouth was formed into a wavering smile.

"Raven," She said hoarsely, lifting her weak arms to give me a hug. My heart swelled with relief, and I reached down to scoop her into a gentle embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Kori." I said into her ear. "I should have been there to help you, shouldn't have left you alone. It's my fault, and I'm so so sorry, and I'm so glad you're okay, more than you will ever know." Kori didn't reply, instead breaking away from the hug and giving me a look that didn't need an explanation. "I'm so happy you're here." She croaked quietly, smiling. "We have much to talk about." I cocked my head.

"Do we?" I asked, lifting my brow slightly. She gave a slight nod and opened her mouth to speak before I thought better. "Well, we'll talk later. Let's get you better first." Turning my attention to the doctor, I grabbed Kori's hand and gave her a squeeze. "What exactly is the diagnosis?"

"Kori had alcohol poisoning," The doctor said, glancing down at his clipboard. Across the room, I saw Kori's mother stiffen, her mouth drawing into a small line. "However, we were able to reach her in time and pump her stomach. She slept overnight, and now she is just a touch rehydrated. Whenever she feels ready to go, she can leave. We just need to have a stern talk with Koriand'r and her parents regarding her actions." With this, Kori squeezed my hand softly. I gave her a sympathetic smile in return.

"It could have been much worse if someone hadn't had called in." The doctor added. I nodded. _Victor. I owe him the biggest apology. And a hug, too. _

"Okay," I said, standing up. "I'll leave you to talk. I'm going to find Victor, but you text me whenever I can visit again, alright?" Kori released my hand and flashed me a thumbs up in response. "Is there anything you want? I think I saw a drugstore on the drive here." I said, turning my attention towards Kori's parents. They shook their heads and smiled at me, but I could see the shadows under their eyes and their clenched fists that rested on their laps. I decided that I would get them a coffee and something to eat. With that, I left the room, drawing the curtain back around them, and shutting the door quietly. The hallway was empty, so I allowed myself to pause and collect myself. _Kori's okay. She's going to fine, and you can talk things out with her later. Victor is here. Garfield..._ I shook my head, tossing him out of my thoughts. I couldn't afford to think of him now, with all the chaos happening around me. Even picturing his face made my heart sink a little with sadness.

"Rae?" At Garfield's pet name my head shot up, and my eyes darted to the end of the hallway where, to my slight disappointment, Victor stood.

"Victor!" I exclaimed, my feeling disappearing as I made my way to him. He looked tired as well, but had a huge smile upon his face.

"Nice to see ya." His arms wrapped around me and I felt a small smile grow across my face.

"You too. You have no idea." I murmured, hugging him back. "Thank you so much for calling me." With that his grip around me tightened.

"Of course. I'm just sorry I had to bear such terrible news." He said quietly. We released each other and Victor opened his mouth to speak again when suddenly Dick popped up behind him, juggling three bags of groceries and an iced coffee.

"Raven!" He smiled, nodding me a hello.

"Hi."

"Is Kori allowed visitors? I just popped down to the Target near this place and picked up some stuff for her parents and her." He gestured to the bags in his hands and my heart warmed.

"Yes, I'm sure they'll be glad to see you." I said, moving out of Dick's way to let him pass. He thanked me, then scurried down the hallway. Victor chuckled.

"That boy really loves her." He said, and I couldn't help but agree. "By the way, where were you?"

"Where was I when?"

"Last night."

"Oh." My heart sunk a little. _Last night. _"I was with Garfield."

"What?!" He exclaimed, his eyes bulging. "I thought you guys were in a weird place."

"We were. We worked things out... and then this morning I screwed things up again." I said, looking away from him.

"Screwed things up how..." He trailed off, catching the sad look on my face I tried to conceal and taking the hint. "Hey, do you wanna sit back down in the waiting room?"

"Yeah, sure." We made our way back, quickly scouting a couple of places to sit, and collapsed backwards onto the uncomfortable plastic chairs. Silence reigned for a couple minutes, both of us resting our eyes and minds, before I opened my mouth to speak again.

"Hey Vic?"

"Yea?"

"Thanks for calling in for Kori."

"What?"

"Thanks for calling the hospital for Kori. The doctor said that her situation could have been so much worse if you hadn't had called 911." He sat up straighter.

"Rae, I didn't call 911." I cocked my head.

"What? Then who did?" I questioned, drawing my eyebrows into a line on my forehead. Then, the door to the elevator opened and a blonde, tall girl stepped out, carrying two coffees, her eyes darting around the waiting room.

"Terra."


End file.
